Executive Summary

This report, based on an analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau Summary TapeFiles 4 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000) and data from the Centers for Disease Controland Prevention (CDC), National Vital Statistics System (NVSS), provides aprofile of Latino elderly in Michigan. We find that:

• In 2000, nearly 1.2 million Michigan residents were aged 65 years and older,representing 12.3% of total population;

• About 4% of Latinos in Michigan were aged 65 years and older;

• Cubans in Michigan had the higher proportion of the older population thanMexicans and Puerto Ricans;

• The Latino median age was 24 years, lower than the median age of 35.6 yearsfor the total population in Michigan;

• In 2000, the age-dependency ratio was 38.7 for Latinos, lower than 51.6 forthe total population;

• Mexicans and Puerto Ricans had a higher child-dependency ratio than Cubans,reflecting greater differences in fertility rates;

• About 28% of older Latino lived with their spouses, nearly 12% were female-headed families, about 38% were male-headed families, and about 21% livedwith a relative;

• In 2000, about 64% of older Latino males had not completed high schooleducation, compared to 36% of older American males;

NUMBER 5July 2007

Michigan’s Elderly Latino Population

Jean KayitsingaLori A. PostFrancisco Villarruel

Established in 1989 atMichigan State University,the Julian Samora ResearchInstitute (JSRI) is committedto the generation, transmission,and application of knowledge toserve the needs of LatinoCommunities in Michigan andthe Midwest. JSRI wasestablished to honor the legacy ofthe Latino Research PioneerJulian Samora, who was also aco-founder of the NationalCouncil of La Raza, the nation’slargest Latino civil rightsorganization.

Commensurating with theland grant philosophy ofMichigan State University,JSRI is committed to engagedscholarly activities that areresponsive to the needs ofLatinos, are collaborativewith university and localcommunities, and ultimatelyenhance the capacity and wellbeing of Latinos in Michiganand the Midwest.JSRIJSRI301 Nisbet, MSU301 Nisbet, MSU1407 S. Harrison Road1407 S. Harrison RoadE. Lansing, MI 48823-5286E. Lansing, MI 48823-5286

517.432.1317517.432.1317www.jsri.msu.edu

• About 61% of older Latinas had not completed high school education,compared to 35% of older American females;

• Older Cuban populations had higher educational attainment than olderMexican and Puerto Ricans;

• In 1999, Mexican elderly in Michigan had higher poverty rates than PuertoRicans and Cubans; Cuban elderly had the lowest poverty rates of all Latinogroups;

• In 2003, life expectancy at birth was 80.9 years for both sexes, with 83.7years for Latinas and 77.9 years for Latino males.

Percentage Elderly

In 2000, nearly 1.2 million Michigan residents were aged 65 years and older,representing 12.3% of total population. In this age group, 57.8% were women.Among Latinos, 4% were aged 65 years and older (3.5% men v. 4.6% women).Cubans in Michigan had a higher proportion of the older population thanMexicans and Puerto Ricans; they represent almost 9% of the Cuban population(7.2% for men v. 10.6% for women). In comparison, almost 4% of Mexican-origin and Puerto Rican persons residing in Michigan were aged 65 years andolder (see Fig. 1).

Figure 1. Percent of Population 65 Years and Older by Sex and Latino Origin

In 2000, the median age of the total population in Michigan was 35.6 years.The Latino population in Michigan was much younger, with a median age of 24years. Among Latinos, Mexicans had the lowest median age (23.6 years) andCubans the highest median age (35.9 years), according to Table 1. Table 1 alsodisplays age-dependency ratios for the total population and Latino population inMichigan. In 2000, the age-dependency ratio for Michigan was 51.6. The burdenof dependency on the population aged 15 to 64 years in Michigan was from bothchildren and the elderly. The child-dependency ratio was 33.0 while the aged-dependency ratio was 18.6, respectively.

The Latino population overall had a lower age-dependency ratio (38.7), analmost similar child-dependency ratio (34.4), and a much lower aged-dependencyratio (4.3), when compared to the total population in Michigan. Among Latinos,Mexicans and Puerto Ricans had much higher child-dependency ratio (51.8 and54.2 respectively), reflecting greater differences in fertility rates. In contrast,Cubans had a much lower child-dependency ratio (22.6) and a greater aged-dependency ratio (12.8) than other Latinos, reflecting lower fertility rates andgreater proportion of the elderly among Cubans (see Table 1).

Living Arrangements

In 2000, 63% of older population in Michigan lived in family households,about 31% lived in non-family households, and 5% lived in group quarters.Amongst the older population who lived in family households, 36% lived withtheir spouses, 11% were female-headed households, nearly 45% were male-headed households, about 8% lived with a relative (parent or other relatives), andless than 1% were living with non-relatives (see Table 2).

Comparatively, nearly 72% of older Latino population lived in familyhouseholds, one-fourth lived in non-family households, and 2% lived in groupquarters. Of the older Latino population who lived in family households, 28% ofthem lived with their spouses, nearly 12% were female-headed households, about38% were male-headed households, about 21% lived with a relative (parent orother relatives), and 1% lived with non-relatives. Among Latinos, older Mexicansin Michigan were more likely than older Puerto Ricans or older Cubans to live infamily households and less likely to live in non-family households. Older Cubanswere more likely than older Mexicans and older Puerto Ricans to live with theirspouses. In contrast, older Puerto Ricans were more likely than older Cubans andMexicans to live in male-headed households. Older Mexicans were more likelyother older Latinos to live with their relatives (see Table 2).

Educational Attainment

Older Latinos have relatively lower levels of education when compared to theeducational attainment of the elderly in the U.S. In 2000, about 64% of olderLatino males had not completed high school education, compared to 36% ofolder American males. In comparison, about 61% of older Latina females had notcompleted high school education, compared to 35% of older American females.Nearly 16% of the Latino male population aged 65 years and older hadcompleted high school, compared with about 30% of the male population 65years and older in Michigan. Among females, about 24% of the older Latinafemale population had completed high school, compared with 39% of the femalepopulation 65 years and older in Michigan.

Nearly 10% of older Latino males in Michigan had a Bachelor’s degree orhigher compared to about 17% of all older male population in Michigan in 2000.In comparison, about 6% of older Latinas had a bachelor’s degree or higher,compared to about 10% of all older Latinas in Michigan (see Table 3).

Significant differences in educational attainment levels in 2000 among olderLatino population in Michigan also exist. The older Cuban population had highereducational attainment than older Mexicans and older Puerto Ricans. OlderMexicans had lower educational attainment than Puerto Ricans (see Table 3).

Poverty

The poverty rate in 1999 for the Latino male population aged 65 years andolder was 11.2%, which was more than twice the percentage for the total oldermale population in Michigan in poverty (5.4%). Among female elderly (65 andolder), 17.2% of older Latinas were in poverty, compared with 10% of all olderLatinas in Michigan. Among the different Latino groups, the Mexican elderly hadhigher poverty rates than Puerto Ricans and Cubans. Cuban elderly had thelowest poverty rates of all Latino groups (see Table 4).

Life Expectancy

Table 5 presents life tables for Latinos in Michigan by sex for 2003. Lifeexpectancy at birth during 2003 for Latinos represents the average number ofyears that a group of Latino infants would live if they were to experiencethroughout life the age-specific death rates prevailing in that year. In 2003, lifeexpectancy at birth was 80.9 years for both sexes, 83.7 years for Latinas, and77.9 years for Latino males. The 2003 life table compares the life expectancy atany age from birth to older age. The Michigan Latino population aged between60-64 years is expected to live an average of 25 more years (23.1 years forLatino males and 26.7 years for Latinas). A person reaching 85 years of agecould expect to live an additional 9.6 years on average (9.1 years for males and9.9 years for females). More detailed life tables for Latinos are presented in theAppendix A.

Figure 2 displays the percent of Latinos surviving by age and sex in 2003.Overall, Latinas have the highest survival rate when compared to Latino males.Of the original hypothetical 100,000 infant Latinas, 99.1% survive to age 20,90.2% survive to age 65, and 52.4% survive to age 85. In contrast, of the original100,000 infant males, 98.5% survive to age 20, 82.3% survive to age 65, and36.1% survive to age 85 (Figure 2). The survival curve for Michigan Latinos isnearly flat until about the age 50 and then starts to decline thereafter, reflectinglower mortality at younger ages.

Conclusion

We have shown that 4% of all Latinos in Michigan are 65 years and older.Cubans have the highest proportion of the elderly population in Michigan, whencompared to Mexicans and Puerto Ricans. Latino elderly population, particularlyLatina elderly have lower levels of educational attainment that other olderAmericans. We have also demonstrated that poverty among the Latino elderly ishigher than that experienced by older people in Michigan. We have also shownthat more improvements in lowering mortality among Michigan’s Latino elderpopulation are still needed.

Endnotes

1 The age-dependency ratio represents the ratio of the combined childpopulation (under 15 years) and aged population (65 years and older) to thepopulation of intermediate age (15 to 64 years).

2 The child dependency ratio represents the ratio of the child population (under15 years) to the population of intermediate age (15 to 64 years).

3 The aged-dependency ratio represents the ratio of the aged population (65years and older) to the population of intermediate age (15 to 64 years).

4 The aged-child ratio represents the ratio of the number of elderly persons (65years and older) to the number of children (under 15 years).

5 Percentages for all family households were computed in reference to the totalnumber of all family households. Other percentages were computed based onthe total number of households in Michigan (Source: U.S. Census Bureau,Census 2000 STF4).

6 This refers to the total population for whom poverty is determined.

About the Authors

Jean KayitsingaDr. Jean Kayitsinga is a sociologist demographer for JSRI and Visiting Assistant

Professor in the Department of Counseling Educational Psychology and SpecialEducation, Measurement and Quantitative Methods (MQM) program at MSU, where hereceived his Ph.D. in sociology in 1999. His areas of specialization include ruralsociology, sociology of families, demography, research methods and statisticalmethodologies.

Lori PostDr. Lori Post is Assistant Dean for Research in the College of Communication Arts

and Sciences. She is a trained as a demographer and her research focus is violenceprevention.

Francisco VillarruelDr. Francisco A. Villarruel, a University Outreach Fellow and a Professor of Family

and Child Ecology at MSU, is the Acting Director of MSU’s Latino research center— theJulian Samora Research Institute. His research focus is generalized into three areas:Latino youth and families, positive youth development, and developmental contextualism.He is also the chair of the National Hispanic Education Alliance (NAHE).

Fig. 2. Percent of Latinos Surviving by Age and Sex, 2003